Unique gas subsidy launched

Public sector oil major IOC rolled out its Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer of subsidy for domestic LPG consumers in five districts of Jharkhand, including Ranchi and Hazaribagh, on Tuesday. Residents will get a three-month grace period to comply with the formalities of linking their Aadhaar numbers with LPG consumer numbers and bank accounts.

Nearly 3.65 lakh domestic LPG consumers in Ranchi, Lohardaga, Khunti, Hazaribagh and Ramgarh will have to shell out Rs 1,099, the ruling market price, for every 14.2kg cylinder delivered on their doorstep from Tuesday.

IOCL’s deputy general manager (Indane division) D.K. Saha announced that once the refill was delivered, a subsidy amount of Rs 629.25 would be credited to the bank account of a consumer at the earliest.

“The Aadhaar-linked direct benefit transfer scheme will be launched in phases in 22 districts till January (see box),” Saha said and added: “Decision on two districts — Latehar and Chatra — is pending.”

Of the 3.65 lakh Indane consumers, only 80,347 have submitted their Aadhaar details under the KYC (know your customer) scheme launched by gas companies over the past year. Saha also maintained that only 27,481 had linked their bank accounts with Indane consumer and Aadhaar numbers.

To be cash transfer compliant, all a consumer needs to do is approach the bank and submit a photocopy of their Aadhaar card, indicating their Indane consumer number.

Saha said consumers could submit their applications with Aadhaar, bank and LPG details even to respective distributors. “These can also be sent via post to the IOC office on Line Tank Road, Ranchi,” he added.

The senior IOCL official said that though the present amount of subsidy stood at Rs.629.25, it might vary in proportion with the market price of the cylinder as fixed by oil companies every month.